Aye Aye, Captain Swan
by blurred fragments
Summary: On a flying ship, Emma steps out to the helm to talk to a certain pirate about Liam, and also to get a few steering lessons. Post-Neverland.


The Jolly Roger gracefully lifted up from the murky waters, flying towards the inky sky. As the ship achieved optimum height and began a smooth sail through the indigo expanse, Emma pulled Henry close, her entire body tingling with relief and rare joy.

Henry was saved. David could leave the island. Everyone was safe. It was perfect.

It was slow, but it happened. Her lips curved upwards, her mouth opening slightly to bare her pearly whites, and the twinkle in her eye emerging for the world to see. Emma Swan was smiling – a true, blissful grin was breaking out on her face, which had grown tired of solemn stares.

Emma Swan was glowing.

:::

Emma smiled softly as she tucked her son in for the night. Hook had insisted he'd get the safest bunk in the whole ship, for both his and Emma's sake.

Wrapping herself in a coat, she stepped out into the chilly night. She spotted a certain pirate at the helm, steering the ship. She must not have been thinking straight, approaching Hook after saving Henry – "_And when you do succeed, that's when the fun begins_" – but she was drunk with unadulterated joy.

As she neared him, she noticed that his features didn't quite match everyone else's – his eyes looked pained and washed over by melancholy; his lips were pressed together thinly as he stared at the passing clouds.

"Hook."

He turned to face her. "Emma. Lass. What're doing up here? Go be with your son. Get some rest."

"And you?"

"Well, someone needs to steer the ship, and I deem myself the best one to do so, considering my background."

Emma nodded, her eyes never leaving the pirate. He looked tired, like something was weighing him down. It bothered her in a way she never thought it would.

"What's wrong?"

Hook looked taken aback by her inquiry, but he shook his head. "Nothing wrong, lass –"

"Something _is_ wrong, Hook." Emma's grey eyes fixed onto his blue ones. Her expression softened. "Tell me. You can trust me."

Hook turned towards the sails as he sighed."The last time this ship flew, it was called the Jewel of the Realm, and I was with Liam."

Emma's throat tightened and her mouth dried. "Your brother."

Hook nodded, looking incapable of reliving the past. His throat sounded constricted and choked up.

"Before he… before he died, I'd thought everything was alright at first. I'd thought he was cured. His death came as a shock. He was all I had."

Hook looked down at the helm. "Liam and I… we were nearly inseperable. We had to rely on one another. We were abandoned at young and had to work our way up."

"He really was all you had."

"Aye, he was." Hook paused. "I was so young, so innocent. But I wasn't a fool. When Pan warned us about the Dreamshade, I knew it was poison. But he didn't. Scratched himself with it, putting faith in the king of our realm instead. Turned out the king was a bloody coward, not a nobleman at all." His eyes dropped. "He was the reason my brother died. So I turned against him. Turned the ship into the Jolly Roger and never took orders from anyone again."

Emma's eyebrows furrowed. "Wait, you used to take orders from a king? So…?"

"I used to be Lieutenant Jones. My brother was my captain – taught me everything I know about sailing." Hook's eyes narrowed towards the indentation in the wood next to the helm. "I passed that knowledge down to Baelfire, when he was aboard my ship."

Emma held her breath listening to the pirate's (or was that truly who he was?) words, watching his agonized expression, watching him shift his hands across the helm, probably remembering his own brother teaching him how to steer a ship. She watched as his eyelids sunk.

"Why don't you teach me? Just like your brother taught you."

"Why, so you and Neal can be sailing buddies?" Emma did a double-take at Hook's poisoned words.

"Maybe it's not exactly Neal and I," Emma responded, slightly angry at him for thinking that way.

Hook's expression softened. "Aye. Sorry about that, lass."

Emma stepped up towards the helm and positioned her hands in the ten-two position, like when she drove. Hook laughed gently and stepped closer. She could smell _him_ – rum and leather, with touches of the salty seas he craved for. She tingled at his warmth, at his gentle touch when he reached out to move her hands, and felt like she could stay like this forever.

:::

"I think you've got the hang of it," Hook said, marvelling at her learning ability. He'd stepped away from her, leaving Emma to feel like there was a space beside her that needed to be filled.

"So can I steer on my own now?" Emma asked hopefully.

Hook glanced ahead at the skies. "I think so. Should be smooth sailing from here on. Although perhaps I should stay in case –"

"No, Hook, no," Emma cut in. "Go get some rest. A nap, rum, anything. I can handle it."

"But call me if you need any help –"

Emma's lips twitched into a small smile at his concern. "Go Hook."

Hook eased, and nodded, a gentle smile on his face. Before he left, he cocked his head towards the side, raising his fingers to his forehead in a mock salute.

"Aye aye, Captain Swan."

**Inspired by a tumblr post, so it's not exactly my idea. (before any of you ask, I don't have a tumblr, I just visit blogs regularly because I know that getting an account would ruin my life) Tell me what you think. :)**


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